Seattle has been buried under unusually heavy snowfall for the past week. The fact that there is snow at all is noteworthy; a series of snowstorms like this, piling up inches of snow, is something nobody has seen since the 1950s.

I crashed my Rover last Thursday, sliding out of control down a back street on Capitol Hill. Four-wheel drive and fancy electronic traction control do absolutely nothing when you’re driving on packed snow too slick to walk on, and it’s hard to completely avoid routes involving snowy hills when you live on the side of one. We weren’t going very fast, so nobody was hurt, but I did some damage to a parked car and rendered my own vehicle basically undrivable. It’s in the shop, but with Christmas and New Year’s approaching I don’t expect to see it again for a couple of weeks.

In about an hour, then, I’m getting into a rental car, swinging by downtown to pick up Ava, and leaving for California. Highway cameras and DOT reports suggest that I-5 is clear all the way to California, so I think we’ll make it in time for Christmas with my family. I have a shovel, some planks, and a bag of kitty litter in the trunk, just in case, and spare blankets and a sleeping bag in the car.

I’m looking forward to the visit. We’ll be back for New Year’s.